More Like This

Preview

This chapter discusses the Chronicles' accounts of England's engagement with countries in Western Europe, including France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany. The decision of compilers to chronicle English history up to the eve of publication meant that several developments featured in 1577 were also included in the edition of 1587. What was discussed is interesting, what was omitted equally so. Readers were warned that in treating the reign of Elizabeth one could not ignore ‘the great stirres and alterations which have happened in other forren nations’, but in practice coverage was patchy...

This chapter discusses the Chronicles' accounts of England's engagement with countries in Western Europe, including France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany. The decision of compilers to chronicle English history up to the eve of publication meant that several developments featured in 1577 were also included in the edition of 1587. What was discussed is interesting, what was omitted equally so. Readers were warned that in treating the reign of Elizabeth one could not ignore ‘the great stirres and alterations which have happened in other forren nations’, but in practice coverage was patchy and the course of events often had to be reconstructed by the reader.